Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics

The Korean Pediatric Society (대한소아청소년과학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Changes in health status of North Korean children and emerging health challenges of North Korean refugee children

  • Choi, Seong-Woo (Department of Preventive Medicine, Chosun University Medical School)
  • Received : 2021.02.17
  • Accepted : 2021.05.05
  • Published : 2021.11.15
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

The food shortage in North Korea is a serious situation that has spanned the mid-1990s to today. North Korean refugee children, even those born in North Korea, China, or South Korea, had poor nutritional status at birth; thus, their growth and nutritional status should be continuously monitored. This review focused on the health status of North Korean children and the nutritional status of North Korean refugee children upon settling in South Korea. Immediately after entering South Korea, North Korean refugee children were shorter and lighter than South Korean children and had a serious nutritional status. Over time, their nutrition status improved, but they remained shorter and lighter than South Korean children. A new obesity problem was also observed. Therefore, it is necessary to continuously monitor their growth and nutritional status.

Keywords

References

  1. Katona-Apte J, Mokdad A. Malnutrition of children in the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea. J Nutr 1998;128:1315-9. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/128.8.1315
  2. Ministry of Unification. Entry status of North Korean refugees 2020 [Internet]. Seoul (Korea): Ministry of Unification; [cited 2021 Mar 31]. Available from: https://www.unikorea.go.kr/unikorea/business/statistics.
  3. Ministry of Unification. Entry status of North Korean refugees by age 2020 [Internet]. Seoul (Korea): Ministry of Unification; [cited 2021 Mar 31]. Available from: https://www.unikorea.go.kr/unikorea/business/statistics.
  4. Central Bureau of Statistics. Nutrition Survey of The Democratic People's Republic of Korea Pyongyang (DPRK): Central Bureau of Statistics, 1998.
  5. Central Bureau of Statistics. Report of the second multiple indicator cluster survey 2000, DPRK. Pyongyang (DPRK): Central Bureau of Statistics, 2000.
  6. UNICEF, WFP, Central Bureau of Statistics. Report on the DPRK Nutrition Assessment 2002. Pyongyang (DPRK): Central Bureau of Statistics, 2003.
  7. Central Bureau of Statistics. DPRK 2004 Nutrition Assessment Report of Survey Results. Pyongyang (DPRK): Central Bureau of Statistics, 2005.
  8. UNICEF, Central Bureau of Statistics. DPRK Multiple indicator cluster survey 2009: final report. Pyongyang (DPRK): Central Bureau of Statistics, 2010.
  9. UNICEF, WFP, WHO, Central Bureau of Statistics. Democratic People's Republic of Korea Final report of the National Nutrition Survey 2012. Pyongyang (DPRK): Central Bureau of Statistics, 2013.
  10. UNICEF, Central Bureau of Statistics. DPR Korea Multiple indicator cluster survey 2017: survey findings report. Pyongyang (DPRK): Central Bureau of Statistics and UNICEF, 2018.
  11. WHO vaccine-preventable diseases: monitoring system. 2020 global summary [Internet]. Geneva (Switzerland): World Health Organization; 2020 [cited 2021 Apr 5]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/immunization_monitoring/globalsummary.
  12. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 results by location, cause, and risk factor [Internet]. Seattle (WA): The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation; 2019 [cited 2021 Mar 31]. Available from: https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbdcompare/.
  13. Lee KY, Kim MK. Diversity of youths with a background of defection from North Korea: assistance policy analysis and implications. J Northeast Asia Res 2015;30:93-129. https://doi.org/10.18013/JNAR.2015.30.2.004
  14. Korea Hana Foundation. Settlement survey of North Korean refugees in South Korea. Seoul (Korea): Ministry of Unification, 2019.
  15. Schwekendiek D, Pak S. Recent growth of children in the two Koreas: a meta-analysis. Econ Hum Biol 2009;7:109-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2009.01.001
  16. Schwekendiek D. Height and weight differences between North and South Korea. J Biosoc Sci 2009;41:51. https://doi.org/10.1017/S002193200800299X
  17. Chang N, Kang EY, Lee JM, Lee MK. Anthropometric measurements and dietary patterns of North Korean migrant children in China. Korean J Nutr 2000;33:324-31.
  18. Kim YY. An evaluation of the health status of children from North Korea. Health Nurs 2005;17:55-63.
  19. Pak S. The growth status of North Korean refugee children and adolescents from 6 to 19 years of age. Econ Hum Biol 2010;8:385-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2010.05.006
  20. Pak S. The biological standard of living in the two Koreas. Econ Hum Biol 2004;2:511-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2004.09.001
  21. Lee IS, Park HR, Kim YS, Park HJ. Physical and psychological health status of North Korean defector children. Child Health Nurs Res 2011;17:256-63. https://doi.org/10.4094/jkachn.2011.17.4.256
  22. Lee SK, Nam SY, Hoffman D. Changes in nutritional status among displaced North Korean children living in South Korea. Ann Hum Biol 2015;42:581-4. https://doi.org/10.3109/03014460.2014.993704
  23. Choi SK, Park SM, Joung H. Still life with less: North Korean young adult defectors in South Korea show continued poor nutrition and physique. Nutr Res Pract 2010;4:136-41. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2010.4.2.136
  24. Choi SW. Growth and nutritional status of children in North Korean refugee families. J Korean Soc Matern Child Health 2020;24:96-101. https://doi.org/10.21896/jksmch.2020.24.2.96
  25. Kim SY, Choi SW. Double burden of malnutrition and obesity in children and adolescents from North Korean refugee families. PLoS One 2020;15:e0241963. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241963
  26. Currie J, Stabile M. Socioeconomic status and child health: why is the relationship stronger for older children? Am Econ Rev 2003;93:1813-23. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282803322655563
  27. Jeong YJ, Choi SW, Kim SY. The comparison of growth state and nutritional disorder between children from families of North Korean refugees and South Korea: with the children aged from 8 to 13. HSS21 2020;11:2165-75. https://doi.org/10.22143/HSS21.11.5.155
  28. Kim SY, Park SY, Choi SW. Comparison of malnutrition status in preschool children between North Korean refugee families and South Korean families. J Health Info Stat 2020;45:255-60. https://doi.org/10.21032/jhis.2020.45.3.255